Sometimes Dreams Really Do Come True
by JenRar
Summary: When Ranger is in the wind, Stephanie admits to herself how she feels. If he makes it back, will she admit it to him? If so, how will he respond?


_Disclaimer: JE owns them. I do not._

~oooOOOooo~

**Sometimes Dreams Really Do Come True**

~oOo~

**Part 1 – Stephanie's POV**

I woke up covered in a sheen of sweat. It was March in New Jersey, so I knew it wasn't from the heat. As I slowly crawled off the bed, I thought about the dream—no, nightmare—that had pulled me from sleep.

Ranger had been gone on his latest mission for three months. So far, he'd been gone a month longer than anyone had anticipated. He hadn't missed the regular check-ins with his superiors in Washington, or so they'd told Tank, but the waiting was slowly eating away at my control.

Every night, the nightmares came and shattered the illusion of peace that I put up around myself during the day. That everything was okay. That I knew Ranger would be home soon. In reality, I dreamed every night that he was never coming home. That I would never get to tell him how I really felt.

My secret. Not even Lula or Mary Lou knew how I felt. Oh, I was sure they'd both guessed. In fact, most of the Merry Men had probably guessed, too. But until Ranger had been gone longer than he was supposed to be, I hadn't even admitted it to myself, let alone anyone else.

I shook myself out of the stupor I was in and changed the sheets on the bed, taking the damp ones into the bathroom with me. I threw them into the laundry hamper, peeled off Ranger's black T-shirt that was now as wet as the sheets due to my nightmare, and stepped into the shower, turning the water on as hot as I could stand it. Once all the sweat had been cleaned from my body and the nightmares had been chased away for the first time tonight, I turned the water off and wrapped myself in a towel.

When I walked into the bedroom, my eyes widened and I let out a scream, shocked at what lay before me.

~oooOOOooo~

**Part 2 – Ranger's POV**

I was so damn tired. I picked the lock to Stephanie's apartment and slipped inside quietly. It was two in the morning, and I'd been driving all night to get back to Trenton. It had been a hell of a long three months. I'd spent the last three days getting debriefed by the suits in Washington and had been itching to get back home.

_Home._ I hadn't thought of someplace like this as home for years. Not until three years ago, when I met my Babe. That's when my life turned upside down. Everything changed. _I_ changed. While I was gone on this latest mission—the last one, thank God—I realized that what had changed the most was what I wanted for my future.

As I got close to her bedroom door, I heard mumbling and then the bathroom door shut and the shower turned on. I decided that was a good thing, as it gave me time to sit and just breathe in the peace I was suddenly overcome with.

I carefully pulled off my clothes, minding the bandages covering my thigh and ribs, kicked my boots off and to the corner, and then slowly lowered myself to the bed. I lay with my head on her pillow, legs stretched out before me, and finally, my worries and fears eased, I closed my eyes and slept.

I hadn't been asleep long when Steph's piercing scream had me all but leaping off the bed. If I'd been uninjured, I'd have been on my feet. As it was, I was struggling to sit up.

"Ranger!" Her voice sounded scared as she watched the pain shoot across my face.

"Babe," I said, wincing. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, God! Ranger, you're hurt! Lie down!" Her voice was a balm to my aching muscles, stinging wounds, and wounded spirit. She came over to kneel beside the bed, her hands running lightly up my arm and shoulder to cup my face.

"I'm okay, Babe. I had to come here first. I had to see you."

"Does Tank know you're back?" She reached for her phone on the nightstand. "I have to let him know. He has to get Bobby here. You're hurt! How bad is it?"

"Stephanie. Babe. Slow down," I said, bringing my hand up to cover hers on my cheek. I looked up into her eyes and felt tears gathering. "I just need you right now. I promise. Come here, Babe."

She didn't move; she just continued looking scared.

I said the one word I knew would bring her up beside me. "Please."

She looked at me for a moment longer and then turned to the dresser and pulled out a T-shirt—one of mine, I noted with satisfaction—and slid it on, pulling a pair of panties on before dropping the towel away from her body. Walking back to the bed, she stood beside it, unsure of what I wanted from her. I reached a hand out to take hers and slowly pulled her down beside me on the bed.

"Ranger, I can't be here. I'll hurt you and—" she started.

I interrupted with a finger to her lips. "Babe, I need you. I need you here beside me right now. We need to talk, but not tonight. Tonight, I just need to hold you. To sleep. Can we do that?"

She leaned down and brushed her lips lightly across mine.

_Dios!_ Sweet heavens, I had missed that. I snuggled her against my uninjured side, pulling her close, and within minutes, our breathing grew slow and even and we slid into sleep together.

~oOo~

I woke up sometime later, the sun streaming in through the blinds, to find her eyes moving worriedly over my skin. "Babe," my voice said roughly.

Suddenly, she held a bottle of water up and the bottle of pills I'd had in my pants. "Sit up a bit," she said softly. "Take one of these. You're in pain and you're a little warm. I don't want your fever to get worse. Then if you want something to eat, I'll call Tank back."

I sat up and took the pill bottle, shaking out one pill before handing it back to her and taking the water.

"I called and told him you were back and talked to Bobby. He said just to make sure you didn't get a fever and to give you any medicine I found that you had brought with you."

I took a long swig of water, swallowing the pill with ease, and handed the drink back to her. "Thanks, Babe. Did you get some sleep? What time is it?"

"I got plenty, Ranger. It's three in the afternoon. You've been asleep almost twelve hours."

My eyes shot open wide at that news.

"You needed the rest. Don't worry about it. Bobby and Tank will stop by after work to check on you, okay?"

I nodded and tugged her hand until she lay down beside me, her head propped up on a hand so she could look into my eyes.

"Babe, we need to talk." At her nod, I continued. "That mission? That was my last one. I'm out, Stephanie."

"What? How?" Her voice was shaky, full of relief and another emotion that I almost dared to hope was the same one I was feeling.

"My contract expired while I was in the middle of the mission. When I got home, I opted not to renew. They were unhappy, but I left them no choice but to accept my decision."

"Why? Why would you do that? Why now?"

"Babe, I have a dream; let me tell you about it." I continued when she nodded silently. "I've dreamed every night for the past three months that when I tell you how much you mean to me, you'll tell me you feel the same. I love you, Stephanie Michelle Plum. You sneaked in under my defenses and claimed me for your own, long before I thought I was _claimable,_" I said, smiling softly down at her. "You are my world, my life now, Babe. There's nowhere in the world I would rather be than beside you."

I lay there, heart pounding in my chest, nearly unable to breathe as I waited for her reaction, for her to speak. When the tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over down her cheeks, I brushed them away with a fingertip.

"Ranger," she started. "No, Ric, I love you with every fiber of my being. I've never loved anyone like I love you. Not Joe, and certainly not the Dick. I'll never love anyone with the amount of love I have in my heart for you. While you were gone, every day, a little piece of my heart died. I was so scared you weren't going to ever get to hear how much you truly mean to me."

I didn't wait to hear any more. I tangled my fingers in her hair and pulled her down to my waiting mouth. Her eager lips caressed mine, her tongue sliding out to trace them, begging for entrance. I parted my lips, letting her slide into me, and moaned against her. We kissed for what seemed like hours, my hands moving to softly caress every inch of her skin. We both knew I was in no shape to do more than kiss, but every kiss held the promise of more. Every kiss held the promise of a future, together.


End file.
